The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a 49-year-old suspected fake soldier, Andrew Atausi, and several other suspects in connection with various criminal activities, including kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, one-chance robbery and the alleged murder of police officers.

The State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this in Port Harcourt, recently during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters, where he said the arrests formed part of the operational achievements recorded by the Command between June and August 2026.

Adepoju said Atausi was arrested on August 10 by police operatives along Ada George, Port Harcourt, while dressed in military uniform and driving a Toyota Hilux painted in Army colours.

The Commissioner said investigation revealed that Atausi was not a member of the Armed Forces, adding that he was suspected to be a serial car snatcher, with three suspected stolen vehicles recovered from him.

He said the recovered vehicles included three Toyota Hilux vehicles without registration numbers and a Toyota Corona Premio with registration number BNY 380 ES, noting that the chassis and engine numbers of the vehicles had allegedly been tampered with.

Adepoju added that an axe and military accoutrements were also recovered from Atausi, as investigation continued into the circumstances surrounding the vehicles and other items recovered from him.

On the June 29 attack on police officers at Aluu Division, the Commissioner said three members of the gang allegedly responsible for the incident had been arrested by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU-AKU.

The suspects, identified as Maduabuchi Emeka, 34, alleged gang leader; Doctor Chinedu Owhor, 42, and Kamachi Joe, 28, alleged armourer, reportedly led operatives to their hideout at Omagwa where two AK-47 rifles stolen during the attack were recovered.

Adepoju recalled that two police officers were killed during the Aluu attack, while others were wounded and one officer had his leg amputated, stressing that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fourth suspect.

On kidnapping, the Commissioner said five members of a suspected kidnapping syndicate were arrested in Oyigbo Local Government Area, adding that they allegedly confessed to operations in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.

He said two other suspects from the same network, Anele Ogbogu, 35, alleged to be the gang’s armourer, and Kenneth Eke, 38, were arrested on July 27, with one AK-47 rifle and one SMG rifle recovered.

The Commissioner further disclosed the arrest of suspects in connection with alleged firearm offences, armed robbery, cultism and one-chance robbery, with firearms, ammunition and other exhibits recovered during the operations.

Adepoju assured residents that the Command would sustain intelligence-led, proactive and community-oriented policing in collaboration with other security agencies, while urging members of the public to continue providing credible information that would assist the police in combating crime across Rivers State.

By; King Onunwor

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has reaffirmed his endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term in the 2027 presidential election, describing him as a son of the state.

Adeleke stated this during a press conference yesterday, shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the August 15 governorship election.

The governor also commended Tinubu for what he described as his support for a free and fair election in the state.

“At this point, I must deeply appreciate Mr. President, His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his strong support for a free and fair election.

“Mr. President is a son of Osun State, and I hereby reaffirm my earlier endorsement of him for a second term in the 2027 presidential election,” Adeleke said.

The governor had previously endorsed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election, despite being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party before defecting to the Accord Party ahead of the Osun governorship election.

Adeleke was declared the winner of the election at about 7:24 am yesterday by the State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.

The Accord Party candidate polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, who scored 444,815 votes.

Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11. The African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes.

The result secured Adeleke a second term after he was elected governor in 2022 on the platform of the PDP before moving to the Accord Party for the 2026 election.

Earlier on Sunday, Adeleke thanked Tinubu for calling to congratulate him on his victory and said he expected Oyebamiji to also call and congratulate him.

“Yes. This is no victor, no vanquished. I want them to come over. I am expecting Oyebamiji to even, as a civilised person, to call me and congratulate me,” he said.

He added, “And of course, I want to seize this opportunity to thank Mr. President. Mr. President has called me and he has congratulated me. And I thank you, Mr. President, for making sure democracy lives on, because you fought for it, Mr. President.”

The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, has raised the alarm over an attempted unauthorised compromise of its official X account.

This is contained in a statement by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, on Saturday.

Uba said the incident was being treated as a cybersecurity matter, with appropriate technical measures activated to secure the account and prevent further unauthorised access.

According to him, efforts were ongoing to fully restore control of the official account. He urged members of the public, the media and other stakeholders to disregard any suspicious, unauthorised or misleading content that might be posted from the account during the period.

The military authorities assured the public that they remained committed to maintaining the highest standards of information security and ensuring that accurate, timely and credible information on the activities and operations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria is provided.

“We assure the public that we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of information security and ensuring that accurate, timely and credible information on the activities and operations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria is provided,” the statement said.

The DHQ also urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and rely on its verified communication channels on other platforms while efforts to secure the X account continue.

These include Defence Headquarters Nigeria on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp Channel.

The development comes as the Armed Forces increasingly rely on digital platforms to disseminate official information on military operations, security developments and other activities.

The DHQ said it would provide further updates as necessary and appreciated the public’s understanding and vigilance.